Excerpts from Sermons: The Lord Wants to Heal Us

God loves all
of us equally. This should make us look at other people with the Christ’s eyes.
We need this to learn how to see people not just as good or bad ones, but to
see something good even in the worst person. As St. Photius the Great said, to
see in a person the ray of light, the image of God, which barely shows thorough
his sinfulness. And we hope that the man will understand his condition, understand
that he has fallen away from God, and that he will find salvation if he turns
to God. (After the Divine Liturgy on October 6, 2016)

Father Sergius Phalei

“And there
shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven any thing that defileth”,
says the Lord. This is why we need changes in our lives. We should not be
afraid of them. The Lord does not order to rebuild our life globally and at short
notice – ruin everything and build it anew tomorrow. It is impossible. The Lord
offers us to start small. “He that is faithful in that which is least is
faithful also in much” (Luke, 16:10). This is why it is less painful to begin
with small changes. Big changes are painful for our passions and our sins.
Especially, if we remember that over thousands of years the sin became a part
of us, of our nature, although it is alien to the human nature. To cut it off
is like to cut off a hand. The pain is the same. It is a great feat. However, a
river cuts though rock with time. And our personal efforts mean a lot. Some
time later you may be told: “Look, you have changed. You were not like this
earlier”. It is not useful for us to notice these changes, but people can
notice them easily from the outside. This is what Christ offers. And this is
why we should be faithful in small things, such as morning and evening prayer, reading
the Gospel and Psalter, the Jesus prayer, and the prayers to the Mother of God. (After the Divine Liturgy on September 25, 2016)

***

Let us be more
attentive to what we say or do and remember that although we are on our own,
sometimes everything happens in the presence of witenesses. It can occur that your sin “infects”
other people. Their personal weakness makes them prone to this sin as well,
which makes their own condition even worse. May the Lord save us all from such
seductive behavior. May the Lord make us stronger on our spiritual way towards
Him. (After the Divine Liturgy on December 2, 2016).

Father Valery Zacharov

Looking at
oneself, it is difficult to understand how God can bear us at all. He knows everything,
all our thoughts, deeds, words and aspirations. He does not just tolarate us, He loves
us. You see, God loves us! We cannot understand this with our mind. We only can
learn to act in the same way – to love. To forget about ourselves and to see our
neighbor. The way to a human’s heart lies through this heart. You cannot get
there through the mind.

***

How can we
learn to thank for what God sends us? To accept it. Not just stand it with our the
teeth clenched, but understand that it is necessary. Necessary, because it is a
remedy, which will heal us. People can abuse and slander us, which may seem
unfair: this is not what I do, I did not say that. And if a person humbles
himself, the man, who has slandered him, asks for forgiveness. But if a person
do not, than there are even more such “listeners”, who say unkind things. The
Lord wants to heal us. He wants us to be as holy as He is. He wants us to
follow Him the way He has gone, enduring sufferings and pain. He did that not
to make us compassionate Him, but to make us reach the Kingdom of Heaven.
(After the Divine Liturgy in the Boarding school on December 3, 2016)

***

We used to
think that we lose the people who end their earthly way. However, it can be
that we do not lose them, but gain them as our supporters, the people who pray
for us and the people who have already reached the bank… We are still sailing
across the rough sea of life. The weather changes every day, and we do not know
what will happen next minute or whether our boat will reach its destination,
which is the Kingdom of Heaven. (After the Divine Liturgy in the Boarding
school on November 5, 2016)

Father Sergius Hrapitsky

You cannot
learn how to love without suffering. If we say we love God, but do not want to
suffer for Christ, then this love is just words. The same we can say about people:
if you love someone, but do not want to suffer for your loved ones, then your
love means nothing. Just words. (After the Divine Liturgy on October 7, 2016)

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